THE END OF THE TRIP AND HOME AGAIN

      

Yes, our annual summer migration is over.... in real life we've been home since the very end of June and, with this early August post, the trip will be over even in blog-land.    (It was a long trip, but not quite as long as it's been here on the blog.)

 

 

 

 Since our ultimate destination (our Northwest home) was Eugene Oregon  ....

 

 

.... I'm tempted to say, in the words of local icon and world-famous  author Ken Kesey "What a long, strange trip it's been." 

 

But although our home city might be a little  different -- "left of normal" (and we're all proud of that), our trip itself was actually a great one, with nothing strange about it.   We explored new places and favorite old ones, had not a speck of trouble on the road, and arrived safely.

 The above pictures are from around town, close to our apartment.   The Eugene Parade was held about a week after we got home ...  we were watching on a street corner less than a block away from our upstairs terrace apartment  -- where the street noise doesn't reach,  but the street excitement is  close by. 

  

 

 

Here is the road-map for the last part of our trip -- from Longmont Colorado  (where we stayed with our son and daughter-in-law) to Eugene Oregon.   The map for the first part of the journey (from our winter home in Florida to Colorado) is HERE.    Because we always break up the trip with a lovely stay with our Colorado family, I've called that our half-way point, but  that's not at all accurate.    (We drove 2,159 miles from Fort Myers to Longmont and then 1,222 miles from there to home.  A total of 3,381 road miles -- not counting side-trips  (mostly in Colorado and Utah).   

 

Abandoned -- along a back-road somewhere  --- Wyoming or Utah or Idaho  -- but the poppies don't know or care.

 

We did not necessarily take the shortest possible route on either 'half' of the journey  and we do not drive long days.  We never have enjoyed that kind of travel -- even when we were younger.    We also took a little longer on the second part of the trip because, while we were in Idaho, we read that temperatures of over 100 F were happening in Eugene.  So we decided to play on the road a bit until it cooled down some at home.

 

Onion seed field somewhere in Idaho

 

Temperatures in the triple digits do not make for good moving-back-in-weather.    And we knew that, this being western Oregon, the extreme heat would not last for long.   Happily it did soon cool down a bit and we arrived in good time for the family picnic on the Fourth of July:

   

  

 

Here are two members of the clan who do not mind having their pictures taken one bit.   We were in the "woods" .... the far back part of the boys' grandparents place.   (Their grandparents are our daughter and son-in-law. We are proud to be the 'GGs' ... the great-grandparents.)  

I took the bird pictures below a couple of days before the Holiday, also in our daughter's yard (closer to their house.)    I was meant to be unpacking our travel van, which we leave out there (we have a small generic car for city use) -- but it was more fun to sit and chat with the family while watching the birds.

 

 

I'm not having any luck identifying this amusing 'little brown job'.  We used to call all our brown feeder birds "LBJs" but that was years ago .   Now it bothers me not to be able to name all the birds we see and I'd love any help I can get with a name for this one.

 

 

Seen in many yards in Eugene 

 

It's good to be home on the West Coast.  We like it here!

   

LINKING this week to:  OUR WORLD on Tuesday; ALL SEASONS; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY; SIGNS SIGNS; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; SATURDAY CRITTERS; and RATHER B'BIRDING.

Thanks to all of the hosts for providing these sharing opportunities. 

 

Comments

[RobertN]

Beautiful post.

[Rose]

I was going to chime in with it is a wren and see others have already told you...not sure which one but feel sure it is. It makes me think of a house wren...but may be another.

[Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin']

Your blog is always a treasure to view! I love coming here. Thanks so much for stopping by I'd Rather B Birdin' and linking in for us to come visit with you!!! I'm pretty sure it's a wren....house wren maybe.

And, never worry Sallie, even if your blog has more than birds, I DO THE VERY SAME THING. And I blog maybe once or twice a week also on my personal blog Hootin' Anni's. It makes sense to me to do more on just one day than a little each day.

As I said, your blog is a treasure. [I lived so very close to Longmont for nearly 50 years!!!]

[handmade by amalia]

Looks like a fun trip. I love travelling. And I love that moment when you open the door and you are home again.
Amalia
xo

[Gaelyn]

I sure like the way you travel, slow and seeing what's along the way. I'm shocked by those triple digits in Oregon.

[Carver]

Wonderful shots of nature and your beautiful great grands. Your road trips sound fantastic to me although tiring. I also love the signs you photographed! Nice to see anything these days with positive messages. I agreed with your comment on mine about how hard it is to avoid the news these days with phones etc. I got all my news for most of my life from the newspaper that was delivered daily and on Sunday's I had the New York Times delivered to catch up on a paper with more of a national/international view. I actually make myself clear the notices on my phone at times when I'm trying to avoid the news without looking and then check to see if I have personal email, texts and voice mails etc. It takes effort though and I've become something of a news junkie again except when I make a decision to give myself a break from it.

[lavender dreamer]

We love to travel the same way...seeing lots of sights along the way! And visiting family is a HUGE bonus! Love that little bird...looks like a sweet Wren to me too. Happy weekend! Hugs!

[Eileen]

Hello Sallie, check out photos online of the Bewicks Wren. I believe it is seen in Colorado. The long thin line above the eye and the beak looks similar in your photos. A cross country trip is on my wish list. I hope hubby and I can do it some day. I agree with the sign 100%. Enjoy Oregon, summer is going by quickly. Great photos, love the poppies and onion field. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

[D]

I have never traveled in a way like you do.
I would like to experience this in future after my retirement.
And it is always home sweet home after a long holiday.

Rainfield

[orchid(Japan)]

Dearest Sallie; Oh My!!! I have missed reading your GORGEOUS tip; just browse down the pictures of your former post. Yes, happy to know that safely back from the long trip♪
At first smiled with the phrase "our annual summer migration is over" :-) What a huge Onion Seed field; To tell the truth, I've never seen Onion Seed field. Wonderful family pictures of the Fourth of July, you sure ARE happy 'GGs' (♡˘◡˘♡) Lovely collage picture of birdie.
Hope you could have a relaxing after the trip at home, Dear friend.

Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend, xoxo Miyako*

[Yogi]

I love your diagonal route twice a year. What a journey you guys take. I love the flag poster also.

[Angie]

Sallie - like many others, I was really struck by the poppy photo - stunning. I also like the flag poster - we can all work to embrace these ideals every day.

[Debbie]

left of normal, not so bad!!! i have always wondered if i could have 2 homes and be happy. i have some really special "things" (books, scrapbooks, pictures, art) i feel like i would miss those things if i didn't have everything with me.

that's one long haul - i like the onion seed field!!!!!

[diane]

I like the Eugene attitude. Wow that is one heck of a long way to drive, but doing a little each day and staying with family on the way must make it more fun. How long did it take you? Love all the fields of flowers and GGrandkids shots. Hope you are still having fun there.

[Peter B]

A great road trip! Never been to Eugene, but really want to visit sometime. I like the photo of the old abandoned home surrounded by beautiful poppies!

[Felicia]

It would be great to travel leisurely like that. I'm sure you've seen alot of beautiful country.

[Penny]

So good to know that you are back in Eugene and to see you wonderful photos and here of the sites, Sallie. How I love that field of poppies - and the parade and sentiment of Eugene. You inspire me and lead me through states and down roads I might not every encounter. Thanks, Sallie. Welcome home to Eugene.

[Breathtaking]

Hello Sallie!:) A belated welcome home. It must feel good to be back safe and sound, after such an amazingly long journey. Loved seeing the poppies, and the onion field view, and the boys, doing what boys do!!:) Such happy memories for you. We are not yet Great G Parents, although our grandchildren are both in their thirties, but we may have to wait a while longer. You can't have too many reminders that all men/women are equal. Love the sign.:)

[Halcyon]

I enjoy seeing the different stages of your "migration". Hope you're enjoying summer back home. :D

[Annie]

Happy to see your great-grand-hildren ! They are beatiful boys. Happy too to read what is written on the flag... Amitiés.

[ellen b]

How nice to have a place to stay put for a while on your long road home. Glad you are enjoying your time in Oregon again.

[kelleyn]

What a great trip! Have a lovely week!

[RedPat]

I've always heard good things about Eugene!

[Lesley]

With triple digit temperatures, it's best to stay in the air conditioned car!
Glad you are home safe.

[Marie-OR]

Don't talk politics on here for obvious reasons, but I have to say when we were driving through much of OR headed home last week, we were so happy to learn of the large percentage numbers of Trump supporters we were seeing in most of the state's little towns. :-) I know what it's like in Portland and Salem (and I guess to an extent in Eugene) but hey, I hope we can remain friends...that's all that matters, anyway, is that we are all part of our wonderful America! So, after ribbing you a bit let me say I'm glad we are blog buddies, and I enjoy your posts. Saw you went through Sisters headed home...don't you just love it! As we came in over the Cascades from the coast, when we got to Sisters, we felt like we were HOME. Love that little town! Hope you have a great rest of your week. Here's to the differing opinions that makes America great!

[tom the backroads traveller]

...'left of normal' is nice.

[Michelle Banks]

You are a long distance migrator like the birds Sallie... Glad you are safe and sound and sharing wonderful nature photos..Michelle

[colleen@ LooseLeaf]

I enjoy your zest for life and your eye. I get tired just reading about all that driving, but another part of feels like I've missed out.

[nancy chan]

You had a wonderful trip and I am enjoying all the photos. Lovely scenery and I like the onion seed field.

[bettyl NZ]

It's nice to see family and catch up each year. I do love the abandoned house and the onion field is just amazing to see!

[Gattina]

Wow, that was quite a trip ! In 1971 we travelled 3.600 miles in 2 weeks from Madison Wisconsin to Arizona and then another road back. We saw a lot ! and it was hot, not all cars had air condition ! and you are great grand parents !

[Pat]

Sallie, you and your husband are to be commended to be able to make such a long journey back and forth every year, between Florida and Oregon. Having driven only between New York to Colorado, and back a couple times, I know how long those miles can be, and your trip is double what we did! I'm sure there are always new things to see along the way and you get to enjoy visits with your family and great grandchildren which make sit so worth it.

Eugene seems like my kind of place--progressive and accepting ideology. I'm glad that Denver is similar if not as much as Boulder, CO. I could not live in a place that was otherwise.

Enjoy these last weeks of summer!

[Ruth]

What a great road trip! I would like to do something like that. The onion seed field looks gorgeous. I have never seen something like this. #OurWorldTuesday

[Al]

You've got a nice variety of photos here. Your town is politically almost the opposite of mine, which tends to be very conservative.

[Patrick Tillett]

You really do a great job of chronicling your trips back and forth, and zig zagging around America. Love your photos and narratives.
Have you ever calculated how many miles you've driven? Maybe in the last 5 or 10 years?

[bill burke]

Nice photos from your travels. My daughter tells us that Portland was experiencing a heat wave. Hope the weather is cooler down in Eugene. Been to Eugene and loved it.

[DeniseinVA]

Living vicariously through your travels Sallie, it has been fun. Thank you! Glad you're home now and enjoying your summer in Oregon :)

[Ramblingwoods]

Oh I love that sign and the adorable great-grands and the Nature Sallie.... Michelle

[Rajesh]

Beautiful shots from your trip.

[Hazel]

A never ending journey-it is lovely to see so many photos os a variety of areas.
Have a wonderful summer. (It is so cold here today, that I had the gas fire on, and have just put the central heating on for half an hour).

[Alexa T]

Such an amazing long trip and great images from your travel, too! Wonderful to see so many interesting things! A very nice and pleasant new week! Alexa

[Phil Slade]

Sallie, you seem to have your migration timed to perfection, leaving arrival and the journey itself. I especially like the idea of a leisurely journey, even though at 3,500 miles at my pace would take 12 months!

I wondered why that lovely old house had been abandoned – perhaps because of its construction materials would make it too expensive to repair or rebuild? And then I was taken with that field of onion seeds and again wondered. This time – who, why and what?

I think it’s wonderful that you are both “GGs” – not there yet as our own lot all started late, as they do nowadays.

Yes, it’s definitely a wren but not sure which species.

[Jeanna]

Eugene is too good for my loser ex-boyfriend, although I'm guessing he's long gone. I've never seen those signs, I wonder if it's an OR thing.
That's a LOT of miles to travel, the poppies against the abandoned home photo sparks the imagination.
Didn't Kurt Vonnegut call Eugen home? You are so lucky to be high enough (ha) to avoid the noise but still get the view.

[Linda]

Those poppies are stunning! I'll bet those kids were delighted to see you drive in! I can remember my grandparents coming home and it felt like they had been gone forever my eyes were sore from straining for them to arrive!

[JoAnn Bayne]

Wow - the poppies and the onion seed field - both wonderful finds. Welcome back to the Best Coast - that is quite a trip you take - even if it is taken in short drives. We don't like the "rush and get there so you can rush and get back" kind of driving either. Just wondering - how much actual time do you get to spend in either home - and does your travel time split your year into equal quarters?

[Sharon Wagner]

That onion seed field was quite the site! Happy trails. Soon you'll be back in Florida.

[Gordon]

Hi Sallie, thank you for looking in on me, just in return to your comment and what you think of the state of your country politicallly, I think I may have said before, you and I are reading off the same page, I didn't think it could have been possible for anyone to degrade America and American politics the way Trump has, he has made a mockery of it.
My self and my Daughter take quite an interest in American politics, we love "The West Wing" and have learned quite a bit from that.
All for now , take care, Gordon.

[Lea]

I enjoyed seeing the photos from your trip!
As for your comment on my blog about figs - we eat them raw, but they can be cooked with sugar to make fig preserves.
Hope you have a wonderful week!

[Marleen]

Love the bird photos!

[Bob]

Great march, I love them.

[Lady Fi]

What a long trip and so much to see! Love the abandoned building with the poppies. And that last sign - makes me glad to see that there is compassion and love amongst all the Trump madness!

[Carol]

I've enjoyed driving across country with you and seeing all the sights. You two make a remarkable trek each year. When I was in college, I read about Oregon and Eugene and it sounded like a place I would want to live. It was a fantasy for several years - I'm goihng to live in Oregon. In my 20's, I fell in love with Florida and somehow let go of the Oregon dream. Funny I forgot all about it until this post. Thanks for sharing your lives with us.

[Ratty]

Whenever I see an old abandoned house, like the one in your picture, I always wonder what it must have been like when people lived there. And I wonder how long it has been. I guess most people do that.

[Photo Cache]

Blog life runs slower than real life isn't it? My Morocco trip happened in April and just nearly halfway in sharing it in the blog.

[Linja in Virginia]

Great grandparents! How wonderful! My kids didn't have any kids so I guess I'll never be a GG.

[Joe Todd]

I like "left of normal"

[artmusedog and carol]

Wow! The miles you travelled ~ amazing ~ wonderful photos you have shared and handsome young men too ~ ^_^

[JennJilks]

Lovely photos! We have to ask permission of the grandies to take photos, these days. They are much more inclined to do it.
My youngest (age 30) is NEVER in my blog!!! :-)

[Linda W]

From one Oregonian - welcome home! I always love road-tripping across the US. Enjoyed your photos.

[Sondra]

A great trip!! I didn't read all the comments so someone probably already gave you house wren id on the bird, love the over the shoulder shot...I heard about the 3 digit temps from other bloggers who are up there to beat the heat...didn't quite work that way for them this year. Here in CO it has cooled back some compared to July which was mid 90's. Look forward to your summer blogs in Oregon!

[NatureFootstep photography]

to travel is a good thing, I like it. But it is also good to come home and have the time so sort things out. To let the experiences settle in your mind.

[Eileen]

Hello, welcome home. That is a nice road trip. Something hubby and I have talked about often. It is a cute wren not sure which one, there are so many wren species. I love the old home with the poppies. I know you are happy to be back in Oregon with your grand children and family. Enjoy your summer! Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

[LindyLou Mac]

Just enjoyed a catch up here, Sallie.

[Mary Howell Cromer]

Love that old abandoned house with Poppies and the onion seed fields, wow, just so beautiful. The little House Wren is adorable perched there by his entry into the birdhouse. The grandchildren are delightful! Happy that you had such an enjoyable and safe journey back home.

[Gordon]

As always Sallie I was enthralled reading your post, and thank you for showing us the rout for each part of your travel, I've been googleing all the way.
All the best and take care, Gordon.

[jesh StG]

If it were not for California beaches and mountains, it would be Colorado! And you get to see it every year! Great images of your grandkids:)They look like they're having a great time, having the attention of their grand parents:):)
Ah, the poppies is such a great pop of color with these white houses! Many thanks for all these details of your trip fro All Seasons, Sallie. Now you can hopefully take it easy for a little while!

[Daniela]

Dearest Sallie,
you've been travelling such a lot, but I'm sure that it was worth, to meet our dear ones has no price !

Wishing you a most lovely new week ahead,
I'm sending blessings on your way,
with sincere thankfulness

XOXO Dany

[Beth]

It is a wren. There is a goid bird book Birds of the Willamette Valley, helPs to ID

[mick]

A lovely trip and great photos. I especially like the first one of the open road and also the old home with all the poppies filling the front yard. Thanks for sharing.